DEPARTMENT OF MECHATRONICS AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

MTE 523: IMAGE PROCESSING (2 UNITS)

2022/2023 ACADEMIC SESSION

Course Contents

Psychophysics of vision. Properties of images sampling, digitizing and display images; geometric
and algebraic processing spatial filtering; image coding and transmission, binary image analysis,
segmentation; description of lines and shapes. Representation. Software and hardware systems.
Application. Science analysis.

Course Assessment

Assignments 5 marks
Test 1 5 marks
Test 2 10 marks
Term paper 10 marks
Exams 70 marks
Total 100 marks
 INTRODUCTION TO IMAGE PROCESSING
Modern digital technology has made it possible to manipulate multi-dimensional signals with
systems that range from simple digital circuits to advanced parallel computers. The goal of this
manipulation can be divided into three categories:
• Image Processing image in → image out
• Image Analysis image in → measurements out
• Image Understanding image in → high-level description out
In this course, MTE523, we will focus on the fundamental concepts of image processing. We start
by defining some important terms related to image processing.
Image: An image defined in the “real world” is considered to be a function of two real variables,
for example, f(x, y) with f as the amplitude (e.g. brightness/intensity) of the image at the real
coordinate position (x, y). In other word, an image/digital image may be define as a 2- dimensional
function f(x, y) where x and y are spatial coordinates, and the amplitude f at any pair of coordinates
(x, y) is the intensity or the grey level of the image at that point.
Image Processing: Image processing is a method to perform some operations on an image in
order to get an enhanced image or to extract some useful information from it. It is a type of signal
processing in which input is an image and output may be image or characteristics/features
associated with the image.

Digital image processing focuses on the following major tasks

• Extract information for human interpretation
• Restore or correct aberrations
• Transform image to a more useful form, i.e. to enhance the image for viewing,
Compress it for storage or transmission and representation for autonomous machine
perception
Digital image processing can be broken up into:
Low level process (Image Processing): Input is image and output are also image, e.g. noise
removal, image sharpening, compression, edge detection. It is a quantitative measurement and it
deals with 2D.
Mid-level process (Computer Vision): Input is image while output is attributes of the image,
e.g. object recognition, segmentation. It deals with Artificial Intelligence (emulate human
intelligence), its Semantic (instead of quantitative) output and it deals with 3D.
High level process (Machine Learning): Input is image while output is understanding, e.g. Scene
understanding, Photogrammetry, Pattern recognition (autonomous navigation)
Note: We can only apply image processing in digital image.
The first process one will apply with digital image is discretise (discretization) the image, i.e.
sampling and quantization.
Sampling and Quantization of an Image
The output of most of the image sensors is an analog signal, thus, digital processing cannot be
apply on it because it cannot be stored. It requires infinite memory to store such a signal that
can have infinite values. So we have to convert the analog signal into a digital signal by a
process known as sampling and quantization (discretization).
Sampling is a process of recording an analog signal at regular discrete moments of time (T) as
shown in the Figure 1. The sampling rate is the number of samples per second. The time interval
between samples is called the sampling interval. Sampling corresponds to a discretization of the
space (discrete time signal, t). The smallest element resulting from the discretization of the space
is called a pixel.
Quantization corresponds to a discretization of the amplitude (intensity values). That is, of the
co-domain of the function.
The sampling rate determines the spatial resolution of the digitized image, while the quantization
level determines the number of grey levels in the digitized image. A magnitude of the sampled
image is expressed as a digital value in image processing. The number of quantization levels
f(t)

t
. . . -4T -3T -2T –T 0 T 2T 3T 4T 5T . .
. Figure 1: Sampling of analog signal

should be high enough for human perception of fine shading details in the image. The occurrence
of false contours is the main problem in image which has been quantized with insufficient
brightness levels.

Image Processing Techniques

1. Image Acquisition:

• The process of capturing an image using sensors like cameras or scanners.

2. Image Enhancement:

• Contrast Adjustment: Improving the contrast of an image to make details more visible.
• Histogram Equalization: A method to adjust the contrast of an image by modifying the
histogram.
3. Image Filtering:

• Smoothing (Blurring): Reducing noise and details in an image using filters like
Gaussian, median, or average filters.
• Sharpening: Enhancing edges and find details using filters like the Laplacian or Sobel
operator.

4. Edge Detection:

• Identifying and locating sharp discontinuities in an image, typically representing object

boundaries. Common methods include Canny, Sobel, and Prewitt edge detectors.

5. Image Segmentation:

• Dividing an image into regions or objects. Techniques include thresholding, clustering

(e.g., k-means), and region-growing.

6. Morphological Operations:

• Operations based on the shape of objects in an image, such as dilation, erosion, opening,
and closing.

7. Image Transformation:

• Fourier Transform: Converting an image from the spatial domain to the frequency
domain to analyze its frequency components.
• Wavelet Transform: Decomposing an image into components at various scales for
multi-resolution analysis.

Applications of Image Processing

Image processing have numerous of applications, among are: Computer Vision, Face Detection,
Digital Video Processing, Remote Sensing, Target recognition, Biomedical Image Enhancement
and Analysis, Biometric Verification, Underwater Image Restoration and Enhancement,
Character Recognition, Medical Palmistry, Industrial inspection.
 Sampling and
Quantization

• N bits per
pixel allows
2^N values

Colorado School of Mines Image and Multidimensional Signal Processing

Example Applications
• Industrial
inspection
Example Applications

• Remote sensing
Example Applications
• Target
recognition

Vehicles in a synthetic
aperture radar (SAR)
image
Example Applications
• Medical diagnosis

Xray fluoroscopy image of patient

with knee implant

IVUS
 Sources of Image Data

• Normally images are formed from EM radiation

(light, x-rays, radio waves)
 (a) Inject patient
with isotope
(b) Positron
emission
tomography
(c) Gas cloud in
constellation
Cygnus
(d) Radioactive
valve

Gamma
rays
Colorado School of Mines Image and Multidimensional Signal Processing
 X-rays

Colorado School of Mines

 Ultraviolet (a,b) Fluorescence
microscope

Colorado School of Mines Image and Multidimensional Signal Processing

 Visible

Colorado School of Mines Image and Multidimensional Signal Processing

Infra-red

www.infrared-cameras.org/.../scope.htm

Image and Multidimensional Signal Processing 17

Microwave
 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Radio
Colorado School of Mines
 Images formed from other sources
• Ultrasound
• Seismic
• Scanning
electron
microscope